SORRY IS HARDEST WORD FOR BUTT

Ijaz Butt last night withdrew his match-fixing comments about the England cricket team. But crucially he failed to apologise for his claim that "the talk in bookies circles is that several England players took enormous sums of money to lose the third one dayer". The Pakistan Cricket Board chairman can be thankful his ECB counterpart Giles Clarke allowed him to save face by not using the words "sorry" or "apologise" in his statement. Butt had specifically been asked to apologise or face legal...

Pak, S Africa to play match for flood victims

A charity match to raise funds for the flood victims of the Pakistan has been added to next month’s schedule for the country’s UAE-based cricket series against South Africa. The Pakistan and South African national sides will face each other nine times between Tuesday, October 26, and Wednesday, November 24 in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The schedule begins with two T20 games that will be played in the capital’s Zayed Sports City, and the proceeds from it will go towards flood relief efforts. Organisers...

Vettori on guard against complacency

Skipper Daniel Vettori has warned against complacency as the Black Caps headed to Bangladesh today for a five-match one-day cricket series that has next year's World Cup as backdrop. New Zealand scored...

Pakistan corruption scandal timeline

Police confiscate the trio's mobile phones after allegations in The News of the World that they had arranged for deliberate no-balls to be bowled in the fourth test against England at Lord's. Their...

Ijaz Butt, PCB asked to pay compensation to ECB

Dawn learnt on Friday that the ECB has not only demanded an unreserved apology but has also dictated the exact words that apology should comprise. Moreover, the apology will be from both the PCB chairman...

Cricket: England snub for Flamorgan’s James Harris

GLAMORGAN’S James Harris has been snubbed for a place on England’s performance programme this winter. Harris took 63 wickets at an average of 20 last summer – the second highest by an England-qualified seamer – but has lost out to the surprise selections of Jade Dernbach (Surrey) and Maurice Chambers (Essex) – the latter taking only half of Harris’ haul. A 16-man squad will be based in Australia until the start of the third Test in Perth, putting those players in prime position for call-ups...

Andrew Strauss: We were absolutely determined to win against Pakistan

The relief Andrew Strauss felt was obvious. You could see it in his smile and hear it in his voice. The least-loved series has finally come to an end, England winning the final match by 121 runs....

Pakistan-England Cricket Scandal Continues After Players Fight

England batsman Jonathan Trott and Pakistan cricketer Wahab Riaz needed to be pulled apart by England's Graham Gooch after the pair grabbed each other's throats and threw cricket equipment at one another during the warm-up for the two sides' fourth, one-day international. Apparently Trott was heard saying to Riaz – one of the five players on the Pakistan team to be under investigation – “How much money are you going to make from the bookies? Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi said: "When Riaz...

Pakistan match-fixing claims: Lord's remains genteel as crisis rumbles on

According to the anthropologist Kate Fox, our typical reaction to offensive behaviour extends no further than "frowns and glares accompanied by heavy sighs, pointed coughs, tutting and muttering"....

Afridi rubbishes spot-fixing allegations in third ODI

Pakistan's ODI captain Shahid Afridi has rubbished allegations of spot fixing following his side's 23-run victory in the third one-dayer against England at the Oval. The match had come under the scanner...

Pakistan cricket team face fresh spot-fixing investigation

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has launched an investigation into yesterday's one-day international between England and Pakistan following allegations that a scoring pattern in Pakistan's...

England v Pakistan: England hoping to regain centre stage at Oval

With Andrew Flintoff's retirement joining the ongoing corruption enquiries and the county championship finale at the top of the agenda, England's ninth match of the summer against an under-strength...

Diplomatic blames PCB over match-fix laws

Leading English language daily Dawn reported on Thursday that High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan wrote a letter of complaint to Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, who is also patron of the PCB....

Test cricket is still exciting: Sehwag

Test cricket may be losing popularity with Twenty20 catching the imagination of the younger generation, but swashbuckling opener Virender Sehwag says the longer version of the game has never been...

Strauss shines to secure thrilling victory for England – and cricket

This tour is in serious danger of giving cricket a good name. On a gorgeous late summer's day and a perfect pitch, a combination achieving the not inconsiderable feat of making Headingley look a picture,...

PCB announces new policy regarding managers

“Yes, it was a fault at the PCB end that it has not adopted any clear policy in allowing the players to hire their agents/managers. But now the deficiency has been removed by binding the players in this...

Cricket-England romp to victory over dismal Pakistan

Pakistan could not cope with either a barrage of short-pitched bowling from the England pacemen or the slow bowling of Graeme Swann and Michael Yardy. Umar Akmal hit Swann for two straight sixes into the sightscreen but was bowled for 17 when the England off-spinner kept his nerve and floated up another tempting delivery. Yardy was again economical, conceding 10 runs from his four overs. An early wicket to Shoaib Akhtar and a brilliant run-out by Umar Akmal who hit the stumps at the bowler's...

Shahid Afridi issues apology on behalf of Pakistan's scandal-hit trio

Pakistan's one-day captain, Shahid Afridi, has issued a remarkable public apology on behalf of the three players at the centre of cricket's betting scandal. "I think it is very bad news," he said....

Collingwood delighted with easy win

World champions England did their best to put cricket's week of crisis behind them as they returned to the Twenty20 format with a five-wicket victory over Pakistan. Captain Paul Collingwood was delighted...

Match Fixing Scandal: Tainted Pak Trio Will Meet Scotland Yard Today

Pakistan's tainted trio of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir will on Wednesday face another round of questioning from the Scotland Yard for their alleged involvement in the 'spot-fixing' scandal that has rocked international cricket even as England's Players' body demanded their ouster from the Twenty20 and ODI series here. The trio, which has been implicated in the scandal after a sting operation by a British tabloid, is set to be quizzed by the Scotland Yard for the second time...